Wonderland: My Adventure
by BroadwayGirl13135
Summary: Maddie Hattenson knows nothing of her father's past. She only knows that he has some weird obsession with Wonderland and a closet full of suits and top hats. Since her mother is over-protective and she has one friend, she sets off to discover the truth of her father's disappearance. This is my first try at a story. Please review. Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderlan
1. Chapter 1

Hi. My name is Maddie Hattenson. I know what you're about to say. "Hey if you take some letters out of your first and last name, you get the Mad Hatter." Being the sarcastic little girl I was born to be, I would have to say, "Wow. Really? I didn't even notice, even though I've had the same name for eighteen years." If you're not smart enough to realize my name is related to the Mad Hatter's, then you may notice something else. An interesting question that may pop into your head may be, "Your name is Maddie? I thought Wonderland had to do with Alice." Well, you are right. I'll get into Alice's issue in the next paragraph. Right now, I'm telling you that this is my story. Alice does play a part, but it's nothing compared to mine.

Ok. Here's where I said I would tell you all about Alice. It has been twenty years since she has been to Wonderland, according to my father's journal (How he would know anything about Wonderland, I have no idea.). For the record, this is THE Alice who originally fell down the rabbit hole. How do I know this? She told me. Well, her daughter did anyway, that's just what she believes. I don't know if Wonderland even exists. Her daughter's name is Marissa. She's my age and my best friend. Alice, Marissa, and Marissa's father, Jack, live in the same apartment building as my mom and me. She doesn't remember anything about Wonderland as far as I'm told.

Now if you all are satisfied, it's time to tell you my story. I was born in New York City (If you have no idea where that is, you may want a refund from whichever school you attended or are attending.) on Friday, July 13. My full name is Maddison Heart Hattenson. As you've probably guessed, I'm eighteen years old. My mother's name is Krysta Hattenson, and I don't know my father. My mother told me he went missing in England, but I don't believe a word of it. Especially since his entire wardrobe consists of suits and many different top hats. I'm home schooled, and I think my mother is hiding something from me.

Well, that's about it. I think I've told you everything you need to know about me to understand the story. I realize this was a very short chapter. The way I look at it is it's less you have to read or figure out on your own. So, you're welcome. Now it's time for the real story. Welcome back to Wonderland.


	2. Chapter 2

"If you take the square root of forty-nine and multiply it by thirty-nine, you get…."

"Two hundred seventy-three. Why are we focusing on freshman math? I could've done this stuff when I was ten," I said.

"Sweetie," my mom said. Oh no, here comes her 'I'm doing the best I can' speech. "I'm doing the best I can. I've been homeschooling you since you were a little girl. I would love to send you to school. I just don't think…"

"You don't think what, Mom? You don't think I'll fit in? You don't think I can make it? You don't think I'm smart enough? What is there to think about, Mom? I'm eighteen. You can't keep me locked up in this apartment forever."

"I know that."

"Then let me go to school," I pleaded, knowing she would never listen to me.

"I can't do that." She looked like she was about to cry.

Now that I know how much I hurt her, I kind of regret saying what I said to her next. "I bet Dad would have loved me enough to let me be a normal kid!" I stormed to my bedroom, leaving my mother looking astonished and hurt at the kitchen table. I slammed my door and collapsed on my bed crying like I've done for the past five years, ever since I found my dad's journal.

This journal was very old and made of some kind of material I've never seen before. The key was formed in the shape of a heart. The cover of the journal had an etching of a top hat on it and a name above that was burned away. When I opened it, I found sketches of giant caterpillars smoking on pipes. There were sketches on most of the pages, top hats, mazes, weird dragon-like creatures which were labeled "jabberwockies," giant flowers with faces, rabbits in waistcoats, and smiling cats. That's when I saw the journal entry about Alice Liddell. I knew I recognized the name, but I didn't know from where. So, I looked it up online. I found her Facebook page. Then, I realized I was friends with her daughter on Facebook.

That was five years ago. So, when I stormed into my room, I lifted the thirteenth floorboard from my bedroom door and took out the journal. I flipped to the Alice journal entry and read it for the hundredth time. Throughout the entire journal, I kept seeing the word or name "Wonderland." I've made copies of the pages and highlighted similarities among them. The one thing that stood out was the name "Wonderland." So, what did I do? What any self-respecting teenager does when they don't know something, I Googled it. The first thing that came up was Barnes and Noble's website. I clicked on it, and it said, "Purchase the deluxe edition of Lewis Carroll's classic children's story 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' today." That was when I recognized it. My mother would read that book to me when I would have my weird nightmares as a kid.

I remember those dreams well. I would wake up screaming every night. I still have them, but I've learned to wake myself up. I don't know if you want to hear it, but I'll tell you anyway. I would be walking in a field of the giant flowers with faces in my dad's journal. They would be yelling at me, telling me it's my fault. My fault for doing what, I have no idea. Then, a jabberwocky comes up and chases me to a maze. I can't find my way out. Then, the weirdest part, I run into Alice. She's holding an ax in her hands, which are covered in blood. She's saying, "I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident." I turn a corner and find my dad wearing a weird top hat and suit, but his head was chopped off. I kneel by his body and begin crying. This weird woman comes out of a hedge, swinging an ax, saying, "Now you can never exist. Your one link to reality is gone. You will fade." I don't understand. I just sit there in fear as she swings her ax at my neck, but it goes through me. I look down at myself and see that I'm becoming like smoke. I sit screaming for my dad. His head rolls to look at me and whispers, "Please find me, Maddie." Then, I scream and wake up.

Yeah. Demented right? My mom wanted to bring in a psychiatrist, but I lied to her and told her the nightmares stopped. Now I'm beginning to wonder if they are trying to tell me something. This area in Central Park would pop into them, where a rabbit hole would be. I'd have to get out there. My mom could not know. I decided that I was going to leave the apartment the next day, while my mom was at the store.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, I woke up and did the usual routine. I showered, brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, and made myself breakfast. I found a note on the table from my mom. It said, "Going to the grocery store. Text me if you need anything." So, she was still ticked at me about the day before. Fine. I didn't need her snooping around anyways. I packed my father's journal and a map of New York in my duffel bag.

I have only been to Central Park once. I was eight years old. I went with Alice and Marissa early on Christmas Eve. Alice decided I needed to get out of the house for once. I never actually felt snow before. It was amazing. My mom doesn't know I went out. She was doing some last minute shopping. If you're wondering how I know this, I realized Santa Claus doesn't exist at age six. Too many things in my life fell apart at a young age, so I figured Santa was one more thing that was going to go wrong anyways.

From that moment on, I decided Marissa was my only friend. So, I called her up. She met me in front of her apartment on the first floor of our building. She had two waters and some Chips Ahoy cookies in a blue grocery bag.

"Ready?" she asked with a grin.

"Let's do this."

"I brought the cookies in case you maybe want to take a break during this search."

"Thanks, but I don't know if we'll have time. A normal grocery trip for my mom takes about two hours on a Sunday because of all the people. From what I heard this morning, she left around nine, and it is ten now. We have an hour to find this rabbit hole or whatever."

"Well, let's go." I started to take out my map when Marissa interrupted. "Maddie, you can put that away. We'll get there faster if I just lead the way. I'll point out a few landmarks too that may help you find it in case you have to sneak out again."

"Thanks, girl." I don't know where I'd be without Marissa. She's my best friend. Actually, she's my only friend. It's hard to make friends when you're not allowed to leave the house. Sometimes, I feel this weird connection between us, like we're long lost sisters or something. It's crazy I know. If you think about how psychotic my life is, it definitely seems plausible. I trust Marissa more than I trust my own mother. I know she at least would never hide anything from me.

"We're almost there," she said as she pointed out another semi-distinguishable building so I can find my way back to Central Park. Five minutes later, we were searching for what my father described as "a rabbit hole where a rabbit hole shouldn't be." Thanks for the hint, Dad. We had forty-five minutes to find an oddly placed rabbit hole. No big deal.

"Find anything, Marissa?!"

"Not yet! You?!"

"No-wait, hold on! Come here!" She ran up to me. "That looks like a rabbit hole, right?" I was standing in a small clearing behind twenty or so large trees. A broken bench covered, or attempted to cover, a hole that could probably hold a refrigerator. I've never seen a rabbit hole, so I wasn't sure if I was looking at the right thing. It seemed a little too big, but Marissa agreed with my accusation.

"It's in a weird place though, don't you think?"

"That's the point." It took us thirty minutes, but I finally found my father's rabbit hole. Now, I just had to figure out its connection to finding my father. "I'm going down."

"Are you crazy?! What if you get stuck or hurt? Your mother will kill you and me. We'll never get to hang out again."

"Relax, I'm not going all the way down. I just want to get a general idea of how far it goes."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Be quick though. We're going to have to start heading back so your mom doesn't catch us."

"Alright. It'll just take a minute." I placed my duffle bag on the edge of the rabbit hole. I started to inch down the rabbit hole when suddenly…

"Maddison Heart Hattenson! What do you think you are doing?! And why are you out of the apartment?!" I was busted by a red-faced, grocery carrying drill sergeant with a look of worry, anger, and complete disappointment in her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

"Of all the crazy things you can do at eighteen, you pull something like this?!" We were back in the apartment, and Mom was letting me have it. She's been rambling for an hour, telling me how irresponsible I am and how this is why she won't let me go to school. Blah blah blah. I hate it when she treats me like a kid. She just doesn't know when to quit.

"I just wanted to see what was down there."

"You could have died!"

"How would you know?"

"Because I just know. This was probably Marissa's idea, wasn't it? Of course. That girl always has her head in the clouds. Doesn't know when to stop talking about imaginary worlds."

"Shut up!"

"Maddison! What did you just say to me?"

"Just shut up, ok? It wasn't her idea. It was mine. I brought her along because I didn't want to get lost. She had nothing to do with this."

She seemed to consider this. I just didn't want Marissa to get in trouble. This whole thing WAS my idea after all. I just didn't want her to suffer because of me. Plus, I was afraid Mom would never let me see her again. "Well fine," she said after what seemed like hours but was mere seconds. "I guess you can still talk to her. At least you were smart enough to take someone with you."

"Smart enough? Now wait just a second…"

"Nevertheless, you did sneak out and deliberately disobeyed the most important rule in this apartment. 'Never leave the apartment unless told to do so.' So, you are grounded for the next week."

"Grounded?! For what?! Being curious?! Wanting to escape from this prison you keep me in?!"

"Prison?!"

"Yes, Mother. Prison." I couldn't help myself. I was fuming. I don't remember ever being this upset and angry with anyone in my whole life. Everything else just kind of came out. "I'm never allowed to leave. I have one friend. I don't know if I have any other family besides you. My father's gone, and I am stuck doing the same thing day after day. I hate my life! Don't you get it? You keep me trapped in this place like a bird in a cage. I can't be your little pet that will sing when you say, 'Sing!' I have feelings. I have wants and desires. I have to fly free sometime. But I can't do that if you keep clipping my wings. I feel like Marissa's the only person I can trust. I feel like she understands me and believes in me more than you ever will. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have hope that Father might still be alive and that he's trapped in Wonderland…" That's when I bit my tongue. I knew I stepped in it as soon as my mother's face started turning red. I was not prepared for what happened next.

"WONDERLAND?! Maddie, your father is dead! Get that through your head! You're willing to risk your life to chase some fairytale! I knew Marissa was planting some stupid ideas into your head! But I don't blame her. Oh no. You should be smart enough to distinguish reality from fiction. Obviously, I'm expecting too much from you to even accomplish that. You've been reading his journal haven't you?! I knew I should have gotten rid of it when I had the chance!" She started walking to my room, mumbling to herself about how could she be so stupid and God knows what else.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I ran after her to make sure she wasn't doing something crazy.

"Something I should have done from the beginning." She grabbed Dad's journal from my bed along with my maps of New York and jabberwocky drawings. She walked to my father's room and threw them on the bed.

"Mom, please. Give them back." I followed her to the hall closet where she pulled out a hammer, a drill, and a strange looking lock that had a heart in the center.

"No. If something as simple as a journal gives you ideas to do stupid things, then you don't deserve to have them." She walked back to Dad's room, closed the door, and broke the handle with three swings of the hammer. I couldn't watch anymore. I ran to my room, crying the whole way. I heard her installing the lock as I slammed my door. I couldn't believe her. Why would she do this to me? I cried for hours until a random thought hit me. I don't know why I didn't realize it before. Why was Mom at the rabbit hole in the first place?


	5. Chapter 5

It's been three days since my mom put my dad's journal under lock and key. I have tried every possible method of unlocking the flamingo shaped lock with the heart in the center (Yes, I just noticed that it was shaped like a flamingo. I was very upset when she pulled it out. Don't criticize me.). I'm not kidding when I say she threw away all of my bobby pins and other accessories that could be used as lock picks. She bought me plastic clips for my hair that cannot be bent or twisted in anyway.

I almost think she's trying to make me go insane. Besides locking up the journal, she took away my iPod Touch, my iPod Nano, my iPad, my portable DVD player, my cell phone, my digital camera, my camcorder, and my laptop. She also forced me to delete any references I had to Wonderland off of my laptop, including my copies of the journal pages. After that, she made me empty the recycle bin, making them disappear forever. Unless I hire a technical analyst from the FBI, I'll never be able to trace those files. I have no idea where she hid all of my stuff. I have searched all over the apartment. Nothing.

I think the worst part of this whole situation is she refuses to talk to me. At all. She just glares at me when we are in the same room. She checks to make sure I'm not reading anything that has to do with fictional worlds every five minutes. She makes me keep my bedroom door open. I am not allowed to watch T.V. with her. When she's watching T.V., I have to put on her noise cancelling headphones. In my opinion, she's taking this punishment a little too far.

I haven't talked for since she grounded me. That's torture for me. I'm a talker. I always have something to say, and you're going to listen to me whether you like it or not. I also love to sing. Can't do that without my iPods. There has been zero noise in the apartment except for little noise like my mother walking around or leaving the apartment. I can't wait until it's over.

Since I can't talk, I've been writing instead. I used to hate writing, but it's getting easier. I've been keeping a diary like my dad's. Unfortunately, mine's kind of boring. There's not much to write about when it feels like you're locked up in a nuthouse, except for the fact that I feel like I'm locked up in a nuthouse. The only problem is the patient (ergo me) isn't the nut. Whereas the doctor (ergo my mother), is the insane whack job holding the patient hostage in a silent prison! Sorry you had to read that. I needed to rant, and you were the only one there.

Want to see what I wrote in my diary? I don't need to hear a response. You're going to read it whether you like it or not. "Day three. Dear Diary, I am so sick of sitting here. I've read every single book, magazine, and comic book I own, which is over one hundred fifty. I've read most of them at least six times already. I'll admit, some books never get old. But reading it over and over again takes patients I do not possess. Ooo. Big word. Possess. I'll have to use that when I'm writing a novel, which might happen in the next two days based on the sentence the warden gave me. I know she doesn't like talking about Dad, but come on. Locking me up like a common criminal isn't fair. Whatever. I've got a plan. I will find my dad, no matter the cost. I just have to wait four more days. That's gonna seem like an eternity. Ugh! Oh well. 'Til tomorrow, Diary. Might as well go to bed early again. Goodnight."

That's pretty much it. Boring right? The first two entries are even worse. I would never subject you to that. I was serious when I said I have a plan. It'll just take a day to find what I need, since my room is such a pigsty. Don't worry. It's a great plan. There's only one possible way I can get caught, but I've got a way to solve that. What mother wouldn't believe that her daughter would clean her room while under house arrest? I'll turn on the vacuum, hear her scream "Close the door. I'm trying to watch 'Jeopardy,'" and I can find what I need to put my plan into action. I just hope I don't need batteries.

Well, I'm sure that whole paragraph didn't give you a single clue as to what I'm doing. Believe it or not, this part of the plan is not going to help me find my dad. It might actually help me learn more about my mom. I feel as though, even though I never knew him, I know more about my dad than my mom. It's seems kind of sad, but I think I have a sort of resentment towards her. Then again, who wouldn't? She never let me go to school. She has let me leave the apartment once. She wouldn't let me have any kind of pet. I'm not allowed to make friends that live outside of our apartment complex. Honestly, what child wouldn't resent her mother for that? I've never had a normal childhood or what I perceive as a normal childhood based on what Marissa tells me and what I see on the T.V.


	6. Chapter 6

Well, I did it. Yesterday night, I started vacuuming my room like I said. My mom got so ticked. She started screaming from the living room. I guess she had a bad day at the mall with Alice. She was only gone for an hour, but that gave me enough time to finish part one of the Wonderplan. See what I did there? I took out land…and replaced it…with plan…never mind. Anyways, part one was borrowing (*cough* *cough* stealing *cough*) a bobby pin from my mom. I snuck in her room and took one out of her accessories drawer. It took all of two seconds. Going back to part two. Mom yelled at me to close my door. I kept the vacuum running and dug my old spy equipment out from under my bed.

I can see the look on your face. "Why do you have spy equipment?" It's simple. When your mother feels a little sorry for you because you have no friends, and it's all her fault, she tends to get you whatever you want for Christmas. So, when I was twelve, I asked for spy equipment. It's some good stuff too. It's not like cruddy junk. I got a tracking device, a so properly named buttonCAM, and a view screen for whatever the buttonCAM picks up.

I had to hide everything behind my bookcase, which is fine. The only problem was that the vacuum was plugged into the outlet by my bookcase. Why is that a problem? If you're klutzy like I am, it's a very big problem. I stepped over the cord and started moving the bookcase. It was fine until I moved it in the wrong direction. I moved it left instead of right and knocked the cord right out of the wall. At first, I didn't notice what happened until I moved the bookcase a little and heard it move. Oh no.

"What was that noise?!"

"Nothing. I tripped on the vacuum cord. I knocked it out of the wall and ran into my bed. It slid on the floor. I'm sorry, Mom."

"It's alright, Maddie. Just be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Okay, Mom." Is it sad that lying to my mom is becoming a survival skill? I plugged the vacuum back in, hid the stuff, and pushed the bookcase back in place. It was probably the best hiding spot in my room, except for the loose floorboard. I can't use that anymore because it makes more noise than the bookcase. After that, I realized part three of the Wonderplan was even scarier.

"Good night, Maddie. Don't stay up too late." Finally, Mom was going to bed. Part three was underway. I had to wait about an hour until my mom fell into a really deep sleep. Nothing wakes her up. I moved the bookcase and took out the tracking device and buttonCAM. Things were going smoothly. Mom always sets her outfit for the next day in the bathroom. The next day was grocery day, so Mom had a button down shirt and jeans hanging from the door knob. I snapped the buttonCAM onto her shirt. Luckily, it was the same shape and color of the other buttons, so it wasn't too noticeable. She's too tired to notice anything amiss at nine o'clock in the morning anyways.

"Maddie, what are you doing?" My head shot up so fast I thought it would pop off my shoulders. I slowly turned around and saw my mom standing behind me, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, hi. I'm sorry. I went to brush my hair, and your clothes fell of the door knob." Once again, this is just sad. That's two lies in one day. I'm on fire.

"Alright. Get to bed. It's midnight." She returned to her room and shut the door. Man. That was close. I've definitely got to be a lot more careful. Putting the tracking device on her shoes was much easier and less risky. Everything was set. Now, I can finally find out why it takes her so long to buy groceries. She might also return to the rabbit hole. Things were finally falling in place.

Part four would be probably the easiest, but most stressful part of the Wonderplan. It'll work. I know it will. Tomorrow, I'm getting my dad's journal back.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, I woke up really early, and I mean REALLY early. I had to make sure I heard my mom leave so I could activate the tracking device and buttonCAM. Four hours of lying in my bed later, I heard the door close and my mom walking down the stairs. I looked at my clock. Nine o'clock. Right on schedule. I turned on the view screen, plugged in the tracking device receiver and the buttonCAM receiver, turned up the volume, and got to work. I had a lot of work to do in an hour and a half.

I went through the day's chores, not letting the view screen out of my sight. I brushed my teeth and my hair with the screen set on top of the toilet. I ate breakfast, while watching my mom walk to the store instead of reading my new book. I was so tired I dropped my glass of orange juice on the table. It was literally one inch away from hitting the screen. At least I had paper towels ready to clean up the mess.

When mom finally made it to the store, I figured I had about forty minutes for part four of the Wonderplan. I took the bobby pin out of my jewelry box and walked to my dad's room. My new book that I mentioned earlier was a book on picking locks. Kind of helpful, right? I took the plastic tips off the bobby pin and began maneuvering it in the lock like a professional. The hard part was watching the clock, the view screen, and what I was doing all at the same time. Eventually, I got it unlocked. I looked at the clock. Ten minutes to spare. I walked in, grabbed my dad's journal, and replaced it with a replica that I made the past four days. Mom thought I was just decorating my diary. I memorized every crack, rip, and mark on the cover. The only way you could tell the difference was if you opened it.

Oh no. I just realized. I have no way to lock the door again. I am in so much trouble. What am I going to do?! What would you do? I see you're going to be a lot of help. Fine. Just sit there then. Let me freak out. Don't give me a single clue as to how I should get out of this. Why am I even asking you for help? WAIT! I know what I'll do! Three minutes to spare. I could hear Mom talking to the cashier already. I better do this, fast.

I knew Mom hid the key, but I wasn't sure where. Then, I remembered that she has a ceramic teacup that Dad made for her in the curio cabinet. Maybe it's in there. I took the curio cabinet key and opened the door. I looked up and saw the cup sitting on the top shelf. Two minutes. I quickly grabbed a chair and climbed on top. The teacup was still too far away to see inside, but I could reach into it just barely. I started reaching and quickly glanced at the clock. One minute. Come on. Come on! I put my weight too far left on the chair. It started to shake and suddenly I was falling, with the key in my hand. I fell hard on my back next to the cabinet. I didn't care. I had the key.

What's that noise? I heard something rocking in the cabinet. Then, the teacup started falling toward my face. I threw the key into the hallway. I put my hands up to try to catch it. Please let me catch it. Please. The cup landed softly in my hands. With a sigh of relief, I picked myself up and set it on the coffee table. I looked at the clock to find I had about ten seconds left. It's over.

I couldn't take my eyes away from the screen because that'll ruin my surveillance mission. I couldn't leave the cup either because that'll ruin my journal rescue mission. I watched my mom walk out of the grocery store thinking that my life is over. There's no way I'll ever find my dad now. Wait. Hold on. Where's she going? She just walked into the drug store. I have time. I quickly reset the chair, climbed on with the cup, and placed it back in its spot in the curio cabinet. I jumped off the chair, and with a sigh of relief, I locked my dad's room. I returned the key to the teacup, put the chair back, and locked the curio cabinet. I picked up the view screen just as Mom was leaving the drug store.

I walked back to my room to hide the diary, but I kept my eyes glued to the screen. I noticed my mom picked up some flowers, which was kind of weird. She never brings flowers home. Then, she turned and started heading to Central Park. Mom walked into the clearing where the overly large rabbit hole resided. She placed the grocery bags on the ground and knelt beside the hole. She dropped the flowers down the hole. Tears started pouring down her face as she pulled a letter out of her purse. She held the note at an odd angle, but I was still able to make out the name Andrew on the envelope. Mom kissed the envelope and dropped it down the rabbit hole. She whispered something. I could barely make out anything except for the words, "I love you, Andrew."

Those words were enough to shock me out of my seemingly trance-like state. I dropped the view screen on my bedroom floor. The clatter reminded me that I had to hide everything before she got home. Luckily, hiding the diary and view screen behind the bookcase only took about three minutes. About four minutes later, Mom came home. She seemed a lot happier and started talking to me again. I felt happier too.

My father's alive. That note proved it. Mom would never write a letter to someone who's dead. Now, I know what I have to do. I'll wait a day to gather my thoughts. Then, I'll get Marissa, and we'll go through with the final part of the Wonderplan. Only one more day. I just have to wait one more day. I'm coming, Daddy. I'm coming to find you and bring you home.


	8. Chapter 8

Well, I had a day to plan out every move, anticipate every problem, and devise every solution. Everything was ready. All I had to do was set it up. At least my mom's been a lot happier. She's been allowing me to watch T.V. again, and we've been eating dinner together and talking. Then again, it was the last day I was grounded. There was a sort of relief in the air of our apartment. Things felt normal again or as normal as things could be in my life. Anyway, I thought that it was a great time to set the trap during the first commercial of "Jeopardy." I turned to my mom and said, "Hey, Mom. When Marissa heard I was grounded for a week, she asked if we could celebrate my un-grounding with a sleep over. Would that be alright?"

She seemed conflicted for a moment. Then, she finally said, "I don't see why not. Alice is coming over to play poker tomorrow. So, you two will be alone for a while."

"That's fine. We're both eighteen, Mom. We know how to behave."

"Alright. I trust you. You can sleep over Marissa's."

"Thanks, Mom!" She let me call Marissa and tell her the news. I also quickly explained to her that I have a plan. She said she'll go along with it, and she didn't even know all of the details. I decided to pack tomorrow morning while my mom was cleaning the house. That way, I can grab everything behind the bookcase and print out my old maps and papers. Everything was finally falling into place.

"Maddie, we have to clean the house tomorrow. Don't forget."

"I won't. What time should I set my alarm for?"

"Nine should be alright. We're doing the usual." The usual means our usual chores. I clean the bathroom and kitchen, while Mom dusts and vacuums the living room. I usually finish my sections before she vacuums, which gives me the perfect amount of time to grab the journal and my spy gear from her room and from behind my bookcase.

The next morning, I woke up two hours before my alarm clock. I decided to eat breakfast, brush my teeth and hair, and get dressed. I was so jittery. There was no way I could sit still for another hour. I decided to start packing for the sleepover. I grabbed an old backpack that once held all of my musical programs I bought online. I started packing for part five of the Wonderplan. I packed my cellphone, iPod, walkie talkies, a couple of saved maps, two books on Wonderland that I hid in my sock drawer, several bobby pins, and a kitchen knife (just in case things get dangerous). Finally, I heard my mom's alarm clock go off. Disbelief and relief washed over me. Did it really take me an hour to pack those few things? Was I really only hours away from finding my dad?

"Maddie, are you up?"

"Yes, Mom. There's breakfast on the table for you."

"Okay, good. I hoped it was you."

"What? Did you think someone broke in, made breakfast, and walked out?"

"Well, this is New York. Anything can happen."

"Mom, I don't think _that_ will ever happen. I'm gonna start on the bathroom."

"You go ahead. Thanks for the breakfast."

"You're welcome." I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. My mom has a tendency to inform me if I'm cleaning something the wrong way. So to prevent her criticisms, I close the door even though the smell of the cleaner makes me gag. Today, I barely noticed. There wasn't one possible way my day could go bad. No way.

I was putting the cleaner away when I heard, "Maddie, could you come out here for a second." Oh no. That, I did not anticipate. Mom usually never stops me when it's cleaning day. Something must be seriously wrong. I walked out of the bathroom and into the living room where I saw her staring at something in her left hand. She turned to look at me. The teacup. Oh no. Did she notice something was off? Did I forget to put the keys back? No, no. I put them back. I'm sure of that. Did I put the cup in the wrong place? What did I do wrong?

"There you are. Could you please get me a new rag out of my room? This one has a tear right down the middle."

"Sure. No problem." Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Relief flooded over me. I can't believe I didn't screw something up. I ran to her room as fast as I could. Then, I noticed her clothes from the other day sitting on her desk chair. This was my chance. I grabbed her shoes and took the tracking device off. I then found the buttonCAM on her shirt and ripped it off. I went to leave the room and remembered the rag. I quickly grabbed it and ran out. I stuffed the supplies in the pocket of my hoodie and gave my mom the rag.

"Thanks, Honey. Did you leave the vacuum in your room?"

"I put it back in the hall closet."

"Oh, thanks. I'm going to vacuum soon. So, make sure you have nothing plugged in." The last time I kept my iPod charging when she vacuumed, we blew a fuse. This building kind of sucks when it comes to electricity. Oh well. Things happen. Speaking of which, I barely had five minutes to clean the kitchen before she started the vacuum. I ran into the kitchen and cleaned as fast and thoroughly as I could. It was spotless, at least I thought so. Just as I was putting the cleaner away, I heard the vacuum start up. I ran to my room and quickly moved the bookcase. I moved it one more inch right as she stopped vacuuming.

"Maddie, what was that noise?" She heard it. I am so screwed. Unless…

"Maybe it was the family above us. The Williamses. I heard that they were redecorating." Please work. Please let this last lie work.

"Alright. I just hope they don't move things when the girls are over. It's very distracting." She turned the vacuum back on. I quickly removed the journal and view screen and printed out my saved papers on Wonderland. Everything was set. I finished moving the bookcase just as she turned off the vacuum. "Finished. Are you done with the kitchen?"

"I finished it a while ago. Does it look alright?" I heard her put the vacuum in the hall closet and walk into the kitchen.

"It looks great. Thanks, Maddie. What time are you heading over Marissa's?"

"I'm not sure yet." I looked at the clock. Dang! It was already noon. I told Marissa I would be over at two so we would have some time to hang out. "I told Marissa two o'clock yesterday. Is that alright?" I forgot Mom had to go shopping today. If these plans fall through, I'll feel terrible. I've been so focused on finding my dad; I haven't had time to hang out with my best friend.

"It's fine with me. I won't be heading out until four. Do you have the key?"

"I already packed it."

"Good. Why don't you have some lunch? After that, we'll work on a bit of homework before you go."

"Okay. Can we have Pizza Rolls?"

"Sure. I'll start them now. Grab your math book. We can start working on Trigonometry while we wait." I grabbed my math book from my desk. Two more hours and I would be free.


End file.
